Birmingham vs Huddersfield prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-02 18:45.
After a relatively bright start to the season which saw them go unbeaten in their first four Championship games (W3, D1), Birmingham have stuttered and are now winless in their most recent five (D2, L3). The latest defeat in that run came at Carrow Road on Saturday, losing 2-0 to Norwich, a result which saw manager John Eustace take aim at his toothless attackers post-match, saying they “need more players to step up.”
Such a claim perhaps comes as no surprise given that the Blues have scored just two in the last five, netting only eight in their first nine overall. Difficulty in tucking chances away is nothing new for Eustace’s men either, with only five teams in the division scoring less than their 47 last term, and two of those five in Wigan and Reading were ultimately relegated!
Notably, midweek visitors Huddersfield scored exactly the same number of goals as City last season, but even with their current lowly league position, the Terriers have already found the back of the net twice more than Birmingham in the early stages of this campaign. In a strange quirk of fate, Town’s start to the season is a nearly perfect opposite to Birmingham’s, as after failing to win any of their first four (D1, L3), they are unbeaten in the last five (W2, D3).
New boss Darren Moore still awaits his first win having guided them to successive draws against Coventry and Ipswich respectively, picking up a point with a stoppage-time leveller against the Sky Blues before being gazumped by a late equaliser for the Tractor Boys on Saturday (1-1). There’d probably be no sweeter place to get those first three points than St Andrew’s either for Moore, who was coincidentally born in Birmingham!
Players to watch: Young loanee Jay Stansfield has been responsible for three of Birmingham’s eight Championship goals to date, which perhaps isn’t a great surprise seeing he averages 3.5 shots at goal per game. Huddersfield’s all-action midfield man Jack Rudoni may be looking to outdo him – he’s picked up three bookings and netted twice this season.
Hot stat: All seven of the last Birmingham-held H2Hs have yielded a winner, five of which saw the winning side score exactly twice (BIR: W3, L4).